﻿Are 
  Americans 
  as 
  well 
  read 
  

   as 
  Europeans? 
  

  

  There 
  have 
  been 
  many 
  theories 
  and 
  much 
  discus- 
  

   sion 
  about 
  this 
  matter; 
  here 
  are 
  some 
  striking 
  facts. 
  

  

  /^VNE 
  often 
  hears 
  travelers 
  assert 
  

   ^^ 
  that 
  the 
  average 
  European 
  is 
  

   more 
  cultured 
  and 
  more 
  widely 
  read 
  

   than 
  the 
  average 
  American; 
  that 
  the 
  

   American 
  seems 
  to 
  prefer 
  lurid 
  

   fiction, 
  sensational 
  newspapers. 
  Is 
  

   this 
  really 
  true? 
  

  

  No 
  doubt 
  this 
  impression 
  has 
  been 
  

   created 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  in 
  Europe 
  

   all 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  classics 
  of 
  literature 
  

   can 
  be 
  obtained 
  in 
  very 
  low-priced 
  

   editions, 
  and 
  have 
  always 
  been 
  sold 
  

   by 
  the 
  hundreds 
  of 
  thousands. 
  This 
  

   has 
  never 
  been 
  true 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  — 
  

   until 
  within 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years. 
  

  

  Yet, 
  like 
  magazines 
  or 
  newspapers, 
  

   it 
  has 
  always 
  been 
  possible 
  to 
  pro- 
  

   duce 
  well-bound 
  and 
  well-printed 
  

   books 
  for 
  a 
  small 
  sum, 
  if 
  some 
  one 
  

   dared 
  to 
  risk 
  printing 
  in 
  enormous 
  

   editions. 
  But 
  no 
  one 
  has 
  ever 
  dared 
  

   to 
  risk 
  this. 
  A 
  few 
  years 
  ago, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  young 
  men 
  decided 
  

   to 
  rush 
  in 
  where 
  more 
  cautious 
  

   publishers 
  had 
  always 
  feared 
  to 
  

   tread. 
  

  

  How 
  a 
  Faith 
  Was 
  Justified 
  

  

  These 
  young 
  men 
  elected 
  to 
  pub- 
  

   lish 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  master- 
  

   pieces 
  of 
  the 
  world's 
  literature. 
  The 
  

   editions 
  of 
  these 
  books 
  ran 
  as 
  high 
  

   as 
  1,000,000 
  volumes 
  at 
  a 
  time, 
  and 
  

   because 
  of 
  the 
  resulting 
  economies, 
  

   were 
  offered 
  to 
  the 
  public 
  at 
  a 
  price 
  

  

  LITTLE 
  LEATHER 
  LIBRARY 
  CORP'N, 
  

  

  Dept. 
  126, 
  354 
  Fourth 
  Avenue, 
  New 
  York. 
  

  

  lend 
  me 
  the 
  Bet 
  of 
  80 
  volumes 
  of 
  the 
  De 
  Luxe 
  edition 
  of 
  

   the 
  Little 
  Leather 
  Library. 
  It 
  is 
  understood 
  that 
  the 
  price 
  of 
  these 
  

   30 
  volamei 
  is 
  ONLY 
  12.98, 
  plus 
  postage, 
  which 
  I 
  will 
  pay 
  the 
  post- 
  

   man 
  when 
  the 
  Bet 
  arrives. 
  Hut 
  if 
  I 
  am 
  not 
  satisfied, 
  after 
  examin- 
  

   ing 
  them, 
  I 
  will 
  mail 
  the 
  hooks 
  hack 
  at 
  your 
  expense 
  within 
  30 
  

   days, 
  and 
  you 
  are 
  to 
  refund 
  my 
  money 
  at 
  once. 
  It 
  is 
  understood 
  

   farther 
  payment 
  or 
  obligation 
  of 
  any 
  kind. 
  

  

  that 
  even 
  the 
  poorest 
  could 
  afford. 
  

   Was 
  this 
  faith 
  in 
  the 
  literary 
  taste 
  

   of 
  the 
  American 
  public 
  justified? 
  

   Would 
  Americans 
  really 
  buy 
  the 
  best 
  

   books 
  in 
  such 
  unheard-of 
  Quantities? 
  

  

  The 
  answer 
  is 
  "YES" 
  — 
  and 
  we 
  

   hope 
  it 
  rings 
  loud 
  enough 
  to 
  give 
  an 
  

   everlasting 
  lie 
  to 
  the 
  intellectual 
  

   snobs 
  who 
  are 
  always 
  bewailing 
  the 
  

   fact 
  that 
  America 
  is 
  a 
  land 
  of 
  "Main 
  

   Street 
  yokels," 
  that 
  we 
  are 
  es- 
  

   sentially 
  an 
  illiterate 
  people 
  and 
  that 
  

   we 
  have 
  no 
  taste 
  for 
  the 
  best 
  in 
  

   literature. 
  

  

  The 
  sale 
  of 
  Little 
  Leather 
  Library 
  

   volumes 
  — 
  for 
  that 
  is 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  

   series 
  referred 
  to 
  — 
  has 
  been 
  almost 
  

   beyond 
  belief. 
  In 
  the 
  last 
  eighteen 
  

   months 
  alone 
  over 
  TEN 
  MILLION 
  

   of 
  these 
  books 
  have 
  been 
  purchased. 
  

   And 
  what 
  were 
  these 
  "best 
  sellers" 
  

   that 
  the 
  American 
  public 
  craved 
  so 
  

   intensely? 
  They 
  were 
  the 
  best 
  works 
  

   of 
  — 
  Shakespeare, 
  Browning, 
  Burns, 
  

   Coleridge, 
  Macaulay, 
  Tennyson, 
  

   Longfellow, 
  de 
  Maupassant, 
  Wilde, 
  

   Poe, 
  Emerson, 
  Thoreau, 
  Lincoln, 
  

   Stevenson, 
  and 
  other 
  similarly 
  great 
  

   masters! 
  

  

  Today 
  you 
  will 
  see 
  these 
  books 
  on 
  

   the 
  library 
  tables 
  of 
  the 
  wealthiest 
  

   people 
  in 
  the 
  land, 
  and 
  you 
  will 
  

   see 
  them, 
  too, 
  in 
  the 
  homes 
  of 
  the 
  

   humblest 
  and 
  poorest. 
  And 
  wher- 
  

   ever 
  you 
  see 
  them, 
  you 
  will 
  know 
  

   that 
  in 
  that 
  home 
  live 
  people 
  of 
  un- 
  

   questioned 
  culture, 
  whether 
  they 
  be 
  

   rich 
  or 
  poor. 
  For, 
  clearly, 
  they 
  love 
  

   good 
  books, 
  and 
  what 
  more 
  can 
  be 
  

   said 
  of 
  a 
  man? 
  

  

  What 
  Some 
  

   People 
  Guessed 
  

  

  The 
  publishers 
  are 
  

   still 
  offering 
  to 
  sell 
  

   thirty 
  of 
  these 
  great 
  

   works 
  for 
  the 
  sum 
  of 
  

   $2.98. 
  The 
  illustra- 
  

   tion 
  above 
  shows 
  the 
  

   set 
  in 
  reduced 
  size. 
  

   They 
  are 
  books 
  that 
  

  

  no 
  one 
  cares 
  to 
  confess 
  he 
  has 
  not 
  

   read 
  and 
  re-read. 
  They 
  are 
  com- 
  

   plete 
  as 
  written, 
  every 
  one 
  of 
  them. 
  

   This 
  is 
  not 
  that 
  abomination, 
  a 
  col- 
  

   lection 
  of 
  "extracts." 
  Their 
  beauty 
  

   and 
  character 
  you 
  may 
  judge 
  from 
  

   this 
  fact: 
  A 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  book- 
  

   lovers 
  were 
  shown 
  a 
  sample, 
  without 
  

   being 
  told 
  what 
  the 
  price 
  was, 
  and 
  

   estimated 
  that 
  this 
  set 
  of 
  thirty 
  books 
  

   was 
  worth 
  from 
  $50 
  to 
  $100. 
  These 
  

   estimates 
  are 
  on 
  file 
  for 
  the 
  inspec- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  any 
  one 
  interested. 
  

  

  The 
  paper 
  used 
  in 
  these 
  volumes 
  is 
  

   a 
  high-grade 
  white-wove 
  antique 
  — 
  

   equal 
  to 
  that 
  used 
  in 
  books 
  usually 
  

   selling 
  at 
  $1.50 
  to 
  $2.00 
  apiece. 
  

   The 
  type 
  is 
  clear 
  and 
  easy 
  to 
  read. 
  

   The 
  binding 
  is 
  a 
  beautiful 
  limp 
  

   material, 
  tinted 
  an 
  antique 
  copper 
  

   and 
  green, 
  and 
  so 
  beautifully 
  em- 
  

   bossed 
  as 
  to 
  give 
  it 
  the 
  appearance 
  

   of 
  hand-tooled 
  leather. 
  The 
  entire 
  

   set 
  contains 
  almost 
  3,000 
  pages. 
  And 
  

   the 
  books 
  are 
  so 
  convenient 
  in 
  size 
  

   that 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  can 
  be 
  carried 
  con- 
  

   veniently 
  in 
  a 
  pocket 
  or 
  purse. 
  The 
  

   whole 
  set 
  makes 
  a 
  wonderful 
  travel- 
  

   ing 
  library, 
  since 
  it 
  weighs 
  but 
  three 
  

   pounds. 
  At 
  the 
  same 
  time, 
  it 
  is 
  

   handsome 
  enough 
  to 
  grace 
  any 
  li- 
  

   brary 
  table. 
  

  

  Do 
  Not 
  Send 
  Money- 
  

   Will 
  you 
  not 
  send 
  for 
  these 
  books, 
  

   if 
  you 
  do 
  not 
  already 
  own 
  them? 
  

   No 
  description, 
  no 
  illustration, 
  can 
  

   do 
  them 
  justice. 
  The 
  publishers 
  

   would 
  like 
  to 
  send 
  a 
  sample 
  to 
  every 
  

   NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  reader, 
  

   but 
  frankly 
  the 
  profit 
  is 
  too 
  small. 
  

   But 
  we 
  offer 
  instead 
  to 
  send 
  you 
  the 
  

   entire 
  set 
  on 
  trial. 
  

  

  Simply 
  mail 
  the 
  coupon 
  or 
  a 
  letter. 
  . 
  

   When 
  the 
  set 
  arrives, 
  pay 
  the 
  post- 
  

   man 
  $2.98, 
  plus 
  postage, 
  and 
  then 
  \ 
  

   examine 
  the 
  books. 
  Your 
  money 
  

   will 
  be 
  returned 
  any 
  time 
  within 
  

   thirty 
  days 
  for 
  any 
  reason, 
  or 
  for 
  

   NO 
  reason, 
  if 
  you 
  request 
  it. 
  Tear 
  

   out 
  the 
  coupon 
  or 
  write 
  a 
  letter 
  now, 
  

   so 
  that 
  you 
  will 
  surely 
  be 
  reminded 
  

   to 
  send 
  it 
  in. 
  

  

  LITTLE 
  LEATHER 
  LIBRARY 
  CORP'N 
  

   Dept. 
  126 
  354 
  Fourth 
  Avenue, 
  New 
  York 
  

  

  